Amateur radio news from around Colorado and the broader ham world — new gear, rule changes, contests, and what’s happening on the bands. Curated for the club; every item links to the original source.
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Contesting 101: Build a Better Workbench for Station Troubleshooting
Contester and DX Engineering technical-support specialist Kirk Pickering, K4RO, has published a current installment of Contesting 101 on building a practical workbench and handling basic station troubleshooting. Using a recent lightning-strike repair as context, he argues that operators are better prepared for a contest or field repair when tools, parts, documentation, lighting,…
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Low-Cost SDR Design Offers Ideas for Radio Experimenters
Hackaday’s report from Hackaday Europe 2026 follows Anders Nielsen’s effort to build a transparent, low-cost software-defined radio rather than rely entirely on a closed off-the-shelf platform. The project progressed from soundcard tests to a dual-ADC design, and the live demonstration received the full FM broadcast band at once. For experimenters, the useful…
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A 40-Meter Homebrew Receiver Worth a Look
A recent SolderSmoke Daily News post spotlights a compact 40-meter homebrew receiver by Hidehiko, JA9MAT. The build is a reminder that hands-on receiver work remains a living part of amateur radio: a practical project can combine older operating ideas with current components, fabrication methods, and a lot of individual problem-solving. The receiver…